What is a Schengen visa?

Answer 1

A Schengen Visa is a visa which allows the holder to visit any country which is part of the Schengen Agreement. Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland are the present Schengen countries (as of May 2009). Liechtenstein is expected to fully sign-up later this year. Also there are no border controls between San Marino, Vatican City and Italy or between Monaco and France. Separate visas are still needed for visits to the United Kingdom, Ireland, Romania, Bulgaria, Cyprus and other European countries. Schengen countries are those where border controls have been abolished so there are no longer any passport checks on borders and it's often difficult to know if you've actually crossed a border. Note that there are still customs checks between Schengen countries where one is an EU member (for example, Sweden) and the other is not part of the EU (for example, Norway). All Schengen countries require people to carry some form of ID with them (whether they are a visitor or a national or resident of that country). To apply for a Schengen visa you should apply to the embassy of the first country you intend to visit. If you plan to visit Italy, France and Spain (in that order) then you only need to apply to the Italian embassy and your visa is good for France and Spain too. European Union and EEA citizens don't need any visas to travel within the EU or Schengen countries. Croatians don't need any kind of visa for travel in Italy, Slovenia or Hungary but do need a visa if they intend to go elsewhere in the EU. Americans and Canadians may need a visa for some EU countries.